When balance almost was
by Alinoria
Summary: Setting in the era after the first KoTor game (long before the movies era), the story follows a grey jedi (Shalya) and a young knight of the order (Keelan). Keelan struggles to understand the view of Shalya, who claims to pursue the goal of preserving the frail equilibrium of the Force in the galaxy.


A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

After the confrontation between former master and former apprentice, Malak is dead and Revan disappeared, leaving a scarred and disorganized republic to itself. The jedi order, trying to deal with internal conflict, focuses most of its efforts into keeping its composure, and too little attention to the galaxy.

Admist the chaos, the little know "somewhat jedi", as she would put it herself, going by the name of Shalya, is pursuing a mission of her own.

Her path led her to Kashyyk, deep into the shadowlands. Here, on the hostile planet's surface, she now faces a jedi knight, wary of her intentions. The jedi has likely been knighted recently, he is uncalm and the Force surroundind him vibrates with less cohesion than it does with veteran jedi.

"Who are you ?" questions the knight.

"Good evening." Answers Shalya calmly, with an unthreatening demeanour. The jedi visibly relaxes a bit.

"How can you tell ? The light barely reaches down there. And... Who are you again ?

-Shalya."

The knight only now notices the two short lightsaber hilts at her waist, and takes a step back, tensing up again.

"This place is disturbing. I was unsure I felt a connection to the Force within you, but those are lightsabers. And you are no jedi I have heard of." His hand nears his own weapon's hilt.

"And you are a poorly educated one. I answered your question and await still for you to introduce yourself.

-Jedi knight Keelan Hoyt. What are you after down here ?

-The same as you, I guess. I have been drawn to these unwelcoming lands by a subtle disturbance in the Force. One you are unlikely to have perceived. Will you tell me which master sent you ?

-Master Dalonh." Answers Keelan hesitantly.

"Ah, I am relieved to hear the cautious Twi'lek master survived in these troubled times.

-Are you a friend or a foe?" Snaps Keelan. Shalya lets out a faint sigh, disappointed by the narrow-mindedness this question carries.

"I am both. Or neither. It is a matter of perspective." Silence settles for a few seconds before she asks : "Do you know what you will find here, jedi knight Keelan Hoyt ?

-Master Dalonh seemed unsure, he just told me to investigate.

-And here you are. Investigating and stumbling upon a falleen, while unknowingly chasing after a powerful artifact.

-An artifact ? You know what is down here ?

-I know of it, if not much about it. And I know it should be destroyed. It was, from what I learned. Somehow it awak..." She interrupts herself mid sentence, sensing through the Force a presence approaching. The jedi knight soon senses it too. "A sith, here ?!" he exclaims. "They can sense disturbances too." she states, undisturbed. "You will not be able to face him, young knight." The zabrak, sensing the power of the approaching sith, nods his acknowledgement. "If you will destroy the artifact, I will hold the sith here." Keelan nods again, and resumes his search for the disturbance's source. It is close, they both can feel that much.

Shalya sits and wait fot the pursuer to catch up. The dark jedi is soon upon her. She remains on his way, staring at him impassively, indicating she will not leave him through. The human draws his red lightsaber. Shalya stands up and draws one of hers. The hilt lets a blade of only twenty inches beam up. The sith looks at the blade and snorts derisively. "You are no jedi. I can feel the dark side is within you as strongly as the light. You should have stayed longer with the order. Maybe at least long enough to receive an adult-sized lightsaber." She draws her second weapons which produces a blade as short as the first one. "These do." She asserts intently. A blaster shot comes from the dense foliage, straight to Shalya who sends it back to its firing point with a deft parade of her left blade. The sound of the shooter's body hitting the ground follows. "There's more." brags the sith. "They'll only prevent you from escaping, though.

-I won't." She dashes forward, thrusting her right blade to her opponent's head. He parries it, then steps left to dodge her other lightsaber cutting toward him. Her right weapon has moved already. unused to the speed and proximity of such short blades, the human does not even has time to be surprised by the strike before it cuts his left leg above the knee. He falls to the ground, swipes the air between them with his saber to block her advance, and sends a Force wave toward her. It seems he has done nothing. He channels his anger into another, stronger push. The grass and leaves are moved, The trees' branches break, but Shalya remains unaffected. "Shoot her!" he yells. She force-jumps above the crossfire, late enough to send the first shot back to its sender. she throws her lightsabers to impale two more shooters, and Forces a heavy branch down onto the last one. She lands back as her weapons rejoin her palms. The sith throws his lightsaber at her feet, two steps before him. "Take me away, then, Jedi !" She steps closer, lit lightsabers still in hands. "Wait ! I'm unarmed ! Jedi don't kill their prisoners!

-No, they do not." She replies unphazed, driving both her blades into his chest.

"What ?! You! ... " Keelan is back, and quite puzzled by what he just witnessed.

"Did you destroy it ?" She asks coldly.

"-I... yes. But... What have you done ?" She approaches him, weapons now sheathed and back at her belt, and extends her hand. "Those data are best lost, along with the starmap you destroyed.

-... I answer to the council, not to... Whatever you are. This artifact, corrupted as it was, was powerful, and a source of knowledge. These data may help the council to restore and maintain the peace.

-No, they may not. I know where those maps lead, and it is not to a tool of peace.

-I don't trust you !

-I do not require your trust. This datapad threatens the balance, I will destroy it weither you agree or not.

-The... Balance ? What are you talking about ?

-I am talking about the Force, about the unity that holds the universe together, and that is a balance, which both the jedi and the sith seem to have forgotten, an equilibrium between the dark and the light. Please, unhand the datapad." The jedi has little choice, he does as asked. She destroys the datapad. Before Keelan can asks any of the many questions racing through his mind, Shalya's attention is suddenly caught by a feint presence nearby. She strides toward it, followed by the jedi. He did not feel anything, but decides he needs to learn more about her and her intentions. They quickly reach a young wookie, evolving carefully into the shadowlands, bearing a crude blade obviously too long for a youngling. She steps toward him. Keelan readies himself to stop her, when she calls out softly to the wookie child. "Hello there, little one. Are you not a bit young for a blood rite ?

-Hwrraaaagh.

-That is... very brave of you, but we are fine, and I do know the way back. No lifedebts to be gained here, fluffly little thing. You should run back home before _I _have to save your life. You would not want that, would you ?"

Keelan observes her kind attitude, repassing in his mind the way she coldly executed the injured and unarmed sith. He is also fairly certain she would have killed him, had him refused to hand the datapad over. He his trying to gauge her and her actions while they walk back to the startport, where he finally asks : "Whose side are you on, then ?

-Did you not listen ? I work to maintain the balance, I am on nobody's side, on everybody's side. I am the one in the middle, I am Shalya Bindu." She stops walking and faces him. "Now, do not follow me further."

Keelan is keen to report to his master and listen to his counsel. As he watches her ship taking off, he cannot help muttering to himself : "I have a bad feeling about that."


End file.
